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Boro add another tale to big four book
Middlesbrough 2 Manchester United 2
MARK Schwarzer attended a literacy event at Middlesbrough Central Library last week and revealed that his favourite children's book was "The BFG".
As a budding author himself, perhaps the Middlesbrough goalkeeper should re-write it for a footballing audience. Forget "The Big Friendly Giant" though, Schwarzer should write about the "Big Four Giant-killers". After all, he has first-hand experience of their fairytale exploits.
Gareth Southgate's side might not have beaten Manchester United yesterday, but they cemented their status as the most successful Premier League side in opposition to the established 'big four' other than the 'big four' themselves.
Middlesbrough have now claimed 30 points from United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal in the last four seasons and, in terms of the wider Premier League picture, yesterday's was arguably the most important of the lot.
Having failed to beat Boro for the eighth time in their last 14 Premier League meetings, Manchester United are now just three points clear of Chelsea. Given that they still have to travel to Stamford Bridge later this month, it is an advantage that affords little margin for error despite United's superior goal difference.
It is also a lead that would be two points larger were it not for the two-goal heroics of Middlesbrough's record-signing Afonso Alves.
Eight days after his miss enabled Chelsea to keep their title ambitions on track, the Brazilian was the toast of the King's Road once again as he finally displayed the goalscoring qualities that persuaded Southgate to invest £12.7m in his services.
It has taken more than two months, but in the time it took to roll two composed finishes past Edwin Van Der Sar, the South American successfully silenced the doubters who were questioning his ability to adapt to the unique pressures of the English game. With a full summer's training under his belt, Alves should be a potent attacking asset next season.
Southgate will be determined to maximise the 27-year-old's involvement next term, and having watched George Boateng maintain his recent renaissance with another magnificent midfield display, the Boro boss will also be reconsidering his previous willingness to dispense with the veteran Dutchman's services.
It was widely expected that Boateng would be leaving the Riverside after he clashed with Southgate earlier this season, but on the evidence of yesterday's effortless eclipsing of Paul Scholes, he remains the player who makes Middlesbrough tick.
He was certainly integral to their rapid recovery from the concession of a tenth-minute opener to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ryan Giggs' right-wing delivery was allowed to reach Michael Carrick at the back of the Boro penalty area and, after the Wallsend-born midfielder skipped past a flat-footed Jeremie Aliadiere, an unmarked Ronaldo side-footed home from the heart of the six-yard box.
It was hardly the Portuguese winger's greatest goal of the season, but the laxity of Middlesbrough's marking meant it didn't have to be. Ronaldo has now scored 37 goals in all competitions this season, the same total as the whole of the Middlesbrough team.
The reigning Footballer of the Year has given his side an entirely new attacking dimension, but Alves did enough in the 77 minutes that preceded his substitution to suggest he should improve Boro's poor goalscoring record in the future.
The Brazilian had already glanced a difficult header wide and stung Van Der Sar's gloves with a ferocious free-kick when he galloped on to Aliadiere's headed flick-on in the 35th minute.
There was still plenty to do as he drove into the penalty area, but he calmly clipped a low shot beyond United's Dutch goalkeeper and into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Just as Aliadiere had broken his Boro duck with a goal against Manchester United, so Alves chose the same illustrious opponents to open his Middlesbrough account.
The leveller was no more than Boro deserved for a rousing response to Ronaldo's opener, with Southgate's decision to switch formations midway through the first half producing immediate results.
The Boro boss had started with Gary O'Neil in the hole behind Alves and Aliadiere, but by changing to a conventional four-man midfield, he enabled his side to dominate the central areas.
Stewart Downing went close with the half-time interval looming - Boateng's cross bounced marginally too high for the England international, enabling Van Der Sar to race from his line to block a goalbound half-volley - but Middlesbrough hearts were in their own mouths when Andrew Taylor made a block of his own in first-half stoppage time.
The England Under-21 international was going to ground as Ronaldo shot from the edge of the area but, at the last second, he raised his arm in protection and deflected the winger's shot.
The incident looked more like a penalty than the Luke Young handball that enabled Aston Villa to equalise from the spot last month, but referee Mike Riley remained unmoved. Eleven minutes into the second half, and the full ramifications of his decision were apparent.
With Middlesbrough starting the second half in the same positive way they finished the first, Manchester United's defence was already creaking repeatedly by the time Mark Schwarzer's long free-kick caused it to fall apart at the seams.
A failed clearance from Rio Ferdinand enabled Boateng to lob the ball forward, Wes Brown's weak defensive header fell at Alves' feet after deflecting off Aliadiere, and with Ferdinand nowhere to be seen at the second time of asking, the Boro striker bent a deft low shot past Van Der Sar. Again, Alves' finish looked simple; again, it was anything but. So much for a supposed waste of money.
Trailing with more than half-an-hour left, United increasingly threw caution to the wind in an attempt to maintain their advantage at the top of the table.
Owen Hargreaves arrived to offer an attacking option from the right-back berth, Park Ji-Sung replaced the ineffectual Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs was pushed forward as an auxiliary attacker.
The pressure built steadily as a result, and while Boro successfully held out for a while, their resistance was broken for a second time in the 74th minute.
Park was the instigator, shuffling inside Taylor on the right flank, and Rooney was the finisher, drilling a close-range finish that deflected past Mark Schwarzer off an unfortunate David Wheater.
Both sides could have claimed a late winner - Schwarzer saving Rooney's glanced header and Van Der Sar smothering Tuncay Sanli's shot after the Turkish substitute broke into the area - but, ultimately, they had to be satisfied with a point.
It wasn't quite a giant-killing, but another chapter in Boro's 'big four' storybook had been written.
2:02am Monday 7th April 2008
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